Faceware Live Change-log

Check this page whenever there is a new Live version to view the latest changes and release notes.

Last Update: September 27, 2017

(Live Client for Unity) Version 2.5 (Build 121) — September 2017

A Demo Scene is now included with the Live Unity Client Plugin

Demo is within the Demo Folder

Within the Demo Folder is a Scene that you can load immediately

Demo Has Rigged character (Victor) with character setup already complete

Demo Already has an example prefab to use for testing

If Live Server is running and streaming on the same machine as Unity, you can just hit play to see animation

An Advanced Demo Scene showcasing ‘Motion Logic’ is now included with the Live Unity Client Plugin

Advanced Demo is within the Advanced Demo folder

Within the Advanced Demo Folder is a Scene that you can load immediately

Demo displays a Rigged character (Victor) who is driven programmatically using Motion Logic

Demo utilizes the LiveClientAdv.cs script to drive the controls

LiveClientAdv.cs is a heavily commented script used to drive Victor specifically and serves as an example of how to interact with the Animation Values streaming from Live Server through code, rather than Character Setup

If Live Server is running and streaming on the same machine as Unity, you can just hit play to see animation

LiveClient.cs and LiveClientAdv.cs scripts inherit from the same LiveBase.cs class

This inheritance makes it easy to move from using Character Setup to using Motion Logic in an advanced script at any time during development.

Major UI Updates

Faceware Character Setup Window is now a submenu of Tools rather than Window

Added functionality to Calibrate through the LiveClient Component when Live Server is running on the local machine.

The Calibrate button will only show when the IP is the same as the machine Unity is running on

Localhost

127.0.0.1

Character Setup no longer uses GameObject.Find() to locate characters controls

Character Setup looks for controls in the last object that was selected before clicking the “Get Controls” Button

Note: If the Get Controls button is clicked again after some controls have been set, it will remove the controls that it can no longer find from the add/remove controls section.

Fixed all dead links in UI

UI colors have been updated to utilize Unity defaults, everything should be readable now on all Unity Skins

Character Setup Expressions no longer have help links associated with them

Character Setup UI and LiveClient script UI have been updated for resizing and readability

Character setup no longer uses a JSON object to save the setup. It now uses a built in Unity Data Object (Scriptable Object) that ends in an .asset extension.

Step 3 in Character Setup is no longer “Save As…”, it is now “Save and Apply to Character”. This will take your setup file and apply it to the character you are working on.

Upon loading an existing Character Setup, it will attempt to locate the asset used to create the character setup. (User will be prompted if the asset no longer exists)

Major Backend Updates

TCP IP Logic has been overhauled

Added Connect/Disconnect buttons within the Component

Updated the Connect on Play Logic

Added options to drop packets to ensure that Unity does not fall behind on applying animations

This is toggleable thus if not toggled, All Frames will be applied to the rig

If not toggled, Unity will work as fast as it can to catch up to ensure all frames are applied

Plugin prints a message when frames are dropped with the dropped frame count

Added a new JSON Parser

Updated On New Message Logic to ensure immediately if the packet is valid or not

If packet is invalid

Plugin will disconnect and reconnect immediately

Unity Prefabs are now supported

Once Character Setup is complete, you can select the object in the hierarchy and create a prefab

To do this, drag the root object to the Project Tab

Once a prefab is created, you can drag it back into the scene and drive it as well

Multiple Rigs can now operate within a single Unity Scene

This can be tested by bringing in multiple Prefabs

Each Prefab will show as a connected client in Unity

If you are driving two rigs, Unity will show two connected clients

Multiple Rigs can be driven by multiple Live Servers

This can be tested by bringing in multiple Prefabs

Change the ip address on each Prefab to point to a separate Live Server Instance to test

Plugin no longer uses GameObject.Find() to locate characters to drive, resulting in a large performance increase.

LiveClient Script now must be attached to the Root game object of what its driving

LiveClient now looks for controls in the children of the object it is attached to

Version 2.5.5 (Build 403) — September 2017

Live Client for MotionBuilder

Added support for MotionBuilder 2018

Addressed an issue in Windows 7 where moving the window around could crash MotionBuilder

Addressed an issue in Windows 7 where opening a Windows native file dialog could crash MotionBuilder

Addressed an issue where updating Expressions in Character Setup would be very slow in some cases.

You’ll no longer see the Windows SmartScreen warning when installing

Version 2.5.5 (Build 400) — August 2017

Live Server

Live Server now fully supports the Logitech C525 when Logitech Drivers are installed

Live Server now fully supports VCAM Virtual Webcam and other Virtual Webcam Software

Live Server now fully supports Point Grey / FLIR cameras

Added Error Handling if Live Server fails to build a material from a provided Image during Camera Capture

Added Error Handling to prevent crashes if an invalid Color Space is used

Version 2.5.1 (Build 395) — July 2017

The Installer has been updated to ensure it is always stored in a Live specific directory structure to prevent incidental file loss when uninstalling.

Version 2.5 (Build 390) — May 2017

New Features:

New and Improved Face Tracking Technology

You’ll now see improved tracking with more stability, better face detection, and less jitter in virtually all scenarios. In addition to better tracking and animation under normal conditions, also enjoy better tracking with heavy facial hair, low and/or poor lighting, different skin tones, glasses, etc. These improvements come from advancements from our parent technology company, Image Metrics and their consumer-grade facial tracking technology, the tech seen in successful apps like L’Oreal’s Make-up Genius and Nissan’s Die Hard Fan.

New Animation Preview Characters

You can now select from a variety of Animation Preview characters in Live’s Preferences.

Animation Tuning

You can now tune and customize Live’s realtime animation to your face using the new suite of tools in the Animation Tuning window.

Animation Value Multipliers

You can now use multipliers in the Animation Tuning window to enhance and exaggerate animation so that animation quality and style can be tuned to a specific user’s face.

Animation Tuning Profiles

You can now Save and Load profiles in the Animation Tuning window for different users so that each user can have their own ideal setup.

Command-line Calibration

You can now trigger Calibration and toggle Streaming via command-line for improved automation in your setup.

Simulate Controls For Improved Character Rig Integration

You can now have individual controls Simulate from 0 to 1 without needing the user to move their face to help with improved character setup and rig tuning.

Stream UV Landmark Positions

You can now stream the UV positions of each Landmark on the face alongside the animation data.

Stream Head Position

You can now stream your head position along with rotation so you can move your characters head. Additionally, Live now streams a 4×4 Transform Matrix for the head along with the Position and Rotation values.

Floating Point Precision

You can now adjust the floating point precision of animation values to keep network packet size low when streaming over a network.

Toggle Streaming of Individual Face Groups

You can now toggle whether or not you want to stream individual Face Groups to keep network packet size down when certain Face Groups are not in use.

Keyboard Shortcuts

You can now Calibrate, toggle Streaming, and open various windows via keyboard shortcuts.

Improvements:

The User Interface has been heavily updated for a vastly improved user experience.

Live now supports a much wider variety of color spaces and cameras.

Your settings will now persist when you close and reopen the application.

The camera list will now update in real-time when a camera is plugged in or removed.

You’ll now be prompted to Calibrate when changing cameras or tracking models.

The Headcam tracking model should now animate the ‘Eyes Wide’ shapes properly.

The Headcam tracking model now does a better job at triggering mouth shapes.

You’ll now be notified if a camera is removed or lost while it’s in use.

You can now change the shape of Landmark points in Preferences.

You can now adjust the color of individual Face Group Landmarks and Lines in Preferences.

Event Log messages have been improved for better user experience.

The ‘Streaming’ icon will now be disabled if you have not entered a Port.

You can now properly adjust the scale of the window.

The Animation Preview characters will now move and rotate their heads.

Live will no longer prompt you for licensing twice when using a Trial license.

The installer will now do a better job of installing dependencies.

Bug Fixes:

Fixed a crash when changing the folder name of an image sequence while tracking.

Fixed a crash when using non-standard image sequences.

Fixed an issue when scrolling with the mouse wheel in the settings window.

Fixed an issue where the Settings window would not appear correctly.

Fixed an issue where the Animation Preview character would disappear if moved to another display.

Fixed an issue where the application icon was incorrect in some places.

Fixed an issue where the Event Log could not be saved in some cases.

Fixed an issue where Grab Current Image could sometimes not save the image.

Fixed an issue where Load Image could sometimes not load an image.

Known Issues:

The side profile tracker has been removed so turning your head completely sideways will result in tracking stopping.

Animation values will be slightly different than they were in previous versions. It’s expected that you’ll want to use the new Animation Tuning window to adjust animation values to your desired quality.

Calibration Sync needs to be allowed through Windows Firewall to work correctly.

Settings in the ‘Camera Controls’ and ‘Camera Properties’ windows do not persist; these are handled by Windows and are outside of the control of Live in this version.

Our Company

Contact Us

About Faceware Tech

For over a decade, Faceware Tech has pioneered marker-less facial motion capture with our technology and expertise. Our software has been used on Oscar-winning visual effect films, award-winning AAA video games, commercials, music videos, and web series the world over.